Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

The Wolf Humanities Center (formerly Penn Humanities Forum) awards five (5) one-year Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships each academic year to junior scholars in the humanities who are no more than eight years out of their doctorate and who are not yet tenured (may not be tenured during the fellowship year). Scholars are required to spend the year (late August–May) in residence at Penn.

For the 2019-20 academic year, our topic will be KINSHIP (see Call for Applications below). The Fellowship carries a stipend of $56,225 plus single-coverage health insurance (fellows are responsible for coverage for any dependents) and a $3000 research fund. Fellows teach one undergraduate course in either the fall or the spring semester in addition to conducting their research.

The PhD is the only eligible terminal degree, and applicants must be humanists or those in such allied fields as anthropology or history of science. Ineligible categories include an MFA or any other doctorate such as EdD, social scientists, scholars in educational curriculum building, and performing artists (note: scholars of performance are eligible).

The fellowship is open to all scholars, national and international, who meet application terms.

Visa eligibility: International scholars outside of North America are appointed under a J-1 visa (Research Scholar status). Scholars seeking to hold an H-1B visa during the fellowship year at Penn are ineligible (no exceptions can be made). The Wolf Humanities Center reserves the right to cancel awards if the recipient is unable to meet this condition. Applicants should consult the international programs office at their current university to confirm eligibility before applying for this fellowship.

NOTE: Applications must be submitted online through the Center's secure webform only. Postal and email submissions will not be accepted. Decisions will be announced in late December 2018, when applicants will be notified by email.

The programs of the Wolf Humanities Center are conceived through yearly topics that invite broad interdisciplinary collaboration. For the 2019–2020 academic year, we have set Kinship as the topic.

Scholars who received or will receive their PhD between December 2010 and December 2018 are eligible to apply. You must have your degree in hand or have passed your defense no later than December 2018 to be eligible. Your application will not be considered unless this condition is met (i.e., you are ineligible to apply if you will defend or otherwise submit your dissertation anytime in 2019).

During their year in residence, Fellows pursue their proposed research, are required to teach one undergraduate seminar during the year, and must also participate in the Center's weekly Mellon Research Seminar (Tuesdays, 12:00–1:50), presenting their research at one of those seminars.

In selecting fellows, the Wolf Humanities Center aims for a balanced mix of recent Ph.D.s and more seasoned tenure-track faculty who do not yet have tenure. Preference will be given to candidates whose proposals are interdisciplinary, who have not previously enjoyed use of the resources of the University of Pennsylvania, and who would particularly benefit from and contribute to Penn's intellectual life.

Questions?

Calls for applications are posted each year in late spring. The application deadline is October 15th for each subsequent year's fellowship. Full fellowship guidelines and application are available on the Center's website during each call for applications cycle (May–mid-October).